


Second Chances

by iaMDarWiN



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Cafe AU, Cafe owner Seungcheol and Mingyu, Car Accidents, M/M, Reincarnation, Soulmates, Until We Meet Again au, Writer Yoon Jeonghan, best friend Mingyu, editior Lee Jihoon, subtle Th8 x Jun moments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:47:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27680225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iaMDarWiN/pseuds/iaMDarWiN
Summary: In this world, those who do not fulfill their lives, get reincarnated in order to do so.Seungcheol and Jeonghan seem to have been stuck in this loop. Will they be able to break out of the loop or are they doomed to repeat their tragedies forever?
Relationships: Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups/Yoon Jeonghan, Kim Mingyu/Lee Jihoon | Woozi, Wen Jun Hui | Jun/Xu Ming Hao | The8
Comments: 7
Kudos: 24





	1. The summer night of 1970

**Author's Note:**

> This whole work is based on the Thai drama: Until We Meet Again.  
> I hope you enjoy! ^_^

**The summer night of 1970.**

If anyone told Seungcheol to write a list of the top things he loved, he would add seeing Jeonghan excited onto the list. 

They had just finished watching _Love and Death_ and Jeonghan had a lot of thoughts regarding the film. He was waving his hands as he spoke and looked at Seungcheol to make sure the other was paying attention to him. Unfortunately, poor Seungcheol was failing since he was too distracted on how there was a beautiful aura surrounding his lover when he spoke. 

‘...Seungcheol!’ Jeonghan said, grabbing his arm and pinching it. Seungcheol snapped out of his trance and winced, rubbing his arm. 

‘Did you even hear what I was saying??’

Seungcheol bit his bottom lip, trying to recall what the other had said. Once he realized he couldn’t come up with anything, he gave the other a smile and rubbed the back of his head. It was best he told the truth anyway, he thought. 

‘I’m sorry love. It’s just you look so beautiful tonight.’

Jeonghan gasped, his cheeks turning red. ‘Oh, so you think flattery will get you out of this?’ He said, smacking Seungcheol’s arm. ‘You are mistaken, mister!’

‘Ow!’ Seungcheol yelped, rubbing his arm. He was shocked at how strong the other was. Mental note, do not make Jeonghan mad, he thought.

‘Angel, cut me some slack...Who in their right mind would be able to concentrate when there is such a beautifully handsome man in front of them.’

With that said, he earned another smack. He deserved that one, Seungcheol thought. 

Jeonghan’s ears were red, obviously embarrassed over Seungcheol’s remarks. ‘You’re being extra sappy tonight.’ He commented. 

Seungcheol chuckled, ‘I’ll stop if it makes you uncomfortable,’ He assured, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him closer. 

‘No don’t, I like it’ Jeonghan said, leaning into his touch feeling safe and loved. They turned to walk into an alleyway heading to Seungcheol’s house. It was dark and sketchy looking, but that didn’t deter the couple away from taking the shortcut. They were used to taking this path to Seungcheol’s house and both of them deemed it safe enough to walk through it at night especially since the two were usually attentive about their surroundings. However, tonight they failed to notice a figure following them. 

Seungcheol, blissfully unaware, gave a peck on Jeonghan’s cheek. He suddenly had an idea. ‘Are you hungry? Maybe we can stop by Mingyu’s rester-’ Before he could finish his sentence, a loud demanding voice interrupted him. 

‘Give me what you have and no one dies!’ 

The couple stopped in their tracks and slowly turned around. Jeonghan’s heart dropped when they were met with a man pointing a gun at them. Seungcheol quickly pulled Jeonghan behind him once he realized the situation they were in. Jeonghan gripped Seungcheol’s arm, hating how he was in front of him. 

‘What do you want?’ Seungcheol said carefully, trying not to set off the man. 

‘Anything valuable you got!’ The man shouted, ‘Hurry up or I'll kill you both!’ 

This made both of them tensed up and quickly emptied their pockets. They didn’t have much, just a watch and a few bills. ‘There. Now leave us alone’ Seungcheol said, throwing the items in front of the man. 

‘You’re lying! Now cough it up! I’m serious I’ll shoot!’ 

Seungcheol took a step forward, slowly. ‘ Listen, we aren’t lying. Please just let us go’ He begged. 

‘Seungcheol!’ Jeonghan called out, grabbing the other’s hand. He was scared that he might enrage the other with his advancement. ‘Don’t…’ 

‘It’s okay, It’ll be okay’ Seungcheol said to Jeonghan.

Tired of the hold-up, the robber pointed the gun at Seungcheol. ‘I’ll count to three. If you don’t give me everything you got, you’re dead’. 

One. 

Seungcheol begged and tried to bring the robber to his senses.

Two. 

Jeonghan shouts Seungcheol’s name. 

Three. 

The robber was tackled onto the floor by Seungcheol and the trigger was pulled.

Seungcheol had the robber trapped underneath him. His heart was racing from the adrenalin and his mind not registering where the shot went. ‘Got you now!’ He said, struggling on keeping the robber down. ‘Jeonghan! You okay?’ He called out. 

When the other did not respond he turned his head, ‘Jeonghan?’ 

There were many things in Seungcheol’s life that he never thought he would experience. He wasn’t from a wealthy family, so he thought he would be stuck being a field worker his entire life. Doing the same thing every day. His life, he admitted, had no meaning. However, all those assumptions were all proved wrong when Jeonghan came into his life. He never thought he would fall in love with someone so hard. He experienced life in a whole different way after meeting him. Jeonghan gave color to his black and white life, and he concluded that he was his everything. 

And currently, his everything was on the floor in a puddle of blood. Dying.

Seungcheol shakingly got off of the robber, going over to his lover and falling on his knees next to him. ‘Jeonghan…?’ He said quietly, holding him and searching in the dark, where he was injured. 

‘Seungcheol…’ Jeonghan said weakly. ‘I’m scared…’

Seungcheol didn’t realize he was crying as he took a shaky breath. ‘W-where are you hurt? I’ll take you to a doctor. You’ll be okay.’ He tried assuring the other. He grabbed Jeonghan’s hand and squeezed it.

Jeonghan looked up at Seungcheol, knowing it wasn’t going to be okay. Why did he have to die now? He was having so much fun. He was going to move in with Seungcheol this week. They were going to live out their lives together, grow old together.

‘I’m so tired Seungcheol…’.

‘You can’t leave me yet- we still need to visit Mingyu’s restaurant. I’ll buy your favorite dessert and Joshua can join-’ Seungcheol ranted. 

‘Seungcheol.’ Jeonghan said weakly, cutting him off. He was running out of time. There was one last thing he wanted to tell Seungcheol.

He looked at his lover, giving his full attention to him. ‘Yeah Angel?’

With his last breath, he managed to say the last three important words he wanted Seungcheol to hear. 

‘I love you.’ 

Jeonghan closed his eyes and let the darkness finally consume him.

Seungcheol knew that was the end. He didn’t want to believe it. He shook Jeonghan begging him to stay awake. To not leave him. 

He wasn’t aware that the robber was observing the whole exchange. 

‘He’s dead ain’t he?’

Seungcheol slowly looked up at the man.

‘You should have given me what I wanted! It’s his damn fault he died.’ 

Something broke within Seungcheol at those words. 

‘What the fuck did you say?’ He stood up, anger engulfing him. ‘It’s your fault he’s dead!’ He yelled, his voice was raw and filled with despair. 

The next thing he knew, He was charging at the man, his body reacting before his mind. 

He knew he shouldn’t be doing this.

He knew Jeonghan wouldn’t want him to do anything drastic.

But he just didn’t care. 

The robber shouted, warning him before pulling the trigger. 

The next thing he knew, he was looking up at the sky, struggling to breath. It was so dark, not a star to be seen. ‘Was this how Jeonghan felt’ He thought, fresh tears running down his cheeks. 

A comforting darkness soon started to cloud his mind as he slowly closed his eyes. 

At least he was going to be with Jeonghan again soon. 

  
  



	2. The fall morning of 2020

**The fall morning of 2020.**

Seungcheol woke up in a cold sweat, sitting up on his bed and trying to calm his racing heart. He looked around the room and patted his chest to make sure he wasn’t in an alleyway, dying on the floor. Once his mind caught up with reality, he started to even out his breathing. 

He had been having the same recurring nightmare for a while now and he had no idea why. He had tried cutting his caffeine intake, taken Mingyu’s suggestion in taking melatonin, and even Minghao’s suggestion in writing his thoughts before bed. Unfortunately, none of the remedies had worked and his sleeping schedule had gone to shit. 

Once he recovered, he reached over to his night stand, grabbing his phone to check the time. 

5am. Nice. He had a total of four hours of sleep. More than yesterday, he noted. 

He laid in bed for a while, staring at the ceiling, wishing he could just let his warm blankets engulf him before heaving himself up and out of bed. He groaned when his feet touched the freezing floor. He hated the cold so much. It was just a constant reminder that summer was long gone.

However, that was the irony of his life. He was a coffee shop owner who hated mornings. If it weren’t for his friend Mingyu, pitching the idea to him and begging him to join, he wouldn’t be in this mess. He shouldn’t have been so easily swayed by the free pastries Mingyu promised. 

Despite this, mornings had their own charms, he had to admit. For example, he got to enjoy the crisp morning air that reminded him of his highschool days and the smell of coffee and pastries engulfing the cafe everyday at 7am. But the best part of mornings hands down, Seungcheol thought, had to be the sun slowly creeping up and erasing the uncertainties of what the night had brought. 

That was the best part for sure. 

He checked his phone and noticed the time. 6:30 am. Well fuck. 

He was late. 

* * *

‘I swear this is becoming a habit of yours’ Mingyu scolded Seungcheol. 

To Seungcheol’s defence, he technically wasn’t late. He did show up before the shop opened but he wasn’t going to voice that. He was super late in helping Mingyu and Minghao open shop and unfortunately, this wasn’t his first offence.

‘I know. I’m sorry Mingyu. I had a hard time getting out of bed this morning. I swear it won’t happen again’ 

‘This is so weird, the employee scolding the owner. Who would have thought’ Minghao said, joining the conversation and leaning against the counter, staring at the two. 

  
  


‘Employee?? That’s co-owner to you!’ Mingyu gasped, offended by Minghao’s word choice. 

‘Aren’t you supposed to be checking on our guests?’ Seungcheol commented. 

‘Pft, what guests? Morning rush won’t start for another hour and there’s only one guest currently’ Minghao rose his finger, knowing the two would interrupt him. ‘ and before you say anything, yes I already checked up on him.’ 

Mingyu and Seungcheol looked at Minghao, annoyed that he had thought this all through. 

‘You know you can’t get rid of me that quick’ Minghao said, ending his status report with a grin. 

‘Why am I friends with you’ Mingyu asked, groaning and throwing his hands up in frustration. 

‘Because you love meee’ 

‘Alright enough you two. We should all get back to work. Morning rush will start soo-’ 

Before Seungcheol could finish his sentence, the customer that was sitting in the coffee shop frantiacily interrupted them. 

‘Can I ask you guys a favor?? Please hide me’ The very handsome man asked, reaching out and grabbing Seungcheol’s arm. 

Before anyone could respond to him, he answered for them. 

‘Great! Thank you so much!’ The man said quickly, looking behind him before he went to grab his bag from where he was sitting. He had rushingly stuffed his papers and journal in his tote, leaving some documents behind, before he self invited himself behind the counter and hid underneath it. 

Seungcheol was super confused and was going to ask the man to get out of hiding until he heard the jingle of the front coffee shop door. There stood a short angry man yelling out a name. 

‘Jeonghan, I swear to god. I know you’re here!’ 

Seungcheol looked at the upset man in confusion before looking down at the (maybe) Jeonghan. All he got was a shushing motion before readjusting himself to a more comfortable position. 

Great now he was dragged into a situation. He looked over to Mingyu and Minghao for help, hoping they had an idea on what to do. All he was given was a shrugged and a ‘not my problem’. 

Some friends he had. 

‘Excuse me.’ 

Seungcheol looked at the short man and smiled. ‘Yes? How can I help you?’

‘Sorry to make such a commotion but I am looking for a young man about your height, very handsome but a brat. Have you seen him?’

Seungcheol glanced at the counter and then back at the man, shaking his head. ‘No I apologize.’ 

‘Tsk. That brat.’ The man mumbled before digging into his pocket, pulling out a business card and handing it to Seungcheol. 

‘Let me introduce myself. My name is Jihoon Lee, I’m with _Seventeen Publishing_. If you find anyone with that description and would answer with the name Jeonghan Yoon, please give me a call.’ 

Seungcheol slowly took the card and nodded. ‘ _Seventeen Publishing_ ? THE Jeonghan Yoon?? The one who wrote the award winning romantic novel, _Fallin Flower_?’

‘Yes! Are you a fan?’

Seungcheol was so shocked to find out this information that he didn’t register Jihoon’s question. His mind just checked out as he realized he was hiding his favorite author from his (maybe) editor. What were the odds that he would meet him like this? 

He was pulled back from his thoughts when Jihoon cleared his throat. Yikes. He probably looked stupid. He nodded quickly at Jihoon and smiled widely. ‘Yes! A huge fan. I love his books! I just finished Purple Rose last night.’

Once those words left his mouth, the man underneath the counter looked up in his direction. Unfortunately, he forgot how small of a space he was in and bumped his head hard. Making Seungcheol and Jihoon look at the source of the sound. 

In an attempt to cover up the man’s mistake, Seungcheol acted hurt. ‘Sorry just hit my knee on the counter.’ Fortunately for the handsome man, Jihoon bought it.

After making sure Seungcheol was okay, he continued the conversation. ‘Thank you for supporting his books. Maybe once I track him down, I can give you a private meet and greet as a thank you’ 

Seungcheol’s eyes widened at Jihoon’s words. Surprise that the short man would suggest doing something like that for him. ‘Ah! No need!’ he quickly said, trying to assure Jihoon. ‘I don’t want to inconvenience you...’ 

Jihoon shook his head, Ignoring Seungcheol’s protests. ‘Not at all. It’s the least I could do for disturbing your business.’

Seungcheol thanked Jihoon, very appreciative of the gesture. 

‘Oh! By the way…’

‘Yes?’

‘Can I order an iced americano to go?’ 

Seungcheol blinked trying to let his brain register that Jihoon was placing an order. 

‘Oh! Yes of course!’ 

After Jihoon left the cafe and the coast was clear, Seungcheol quickly squatted down to look Jeonghan in the eye. 

‘Was that true?’ 

‘What?’

‘That you’re Jeonghan Yoon?’

‘I think you already know the answer so can you let me get out of here? My back is killing me’ 

At this, Seungcheol quickly apologized and stood up, giving space to the author. 

Once Jeonghan was out from under the counter he thanked the barista. ‘Thanks for letting me hide from Jihoon. That man is terrifying when a deadline is approaching’ 

‘He seemed nice to me.’ 

‘That’s how he fools everyone! He fooled me in the beginning too. He was all nice and sweet but he’s actually a devil in disguise! It’s his height isn’t it??’ Jeonghan said, throwing his hands up. Not understanding how anyone could take his editor’s side. 

‘If you were in my shoes then you would understand the pain I endure.’ 

‘With all due respect, Jeonghan, he probably just wants to check up on how you’re doing’ Seungcheol commented, not understanding why Jeonghan had to hide from him in the first place. 

Jeonghan pouted, disappointed that his supposedly biggest fan wasn’t taking his side. ‘I thought you liked me’ 

‘W-what-’ Seungcheol stuttered, his ears turning red from embarrassment.

Before he could say anything Jeonghan walked around the counter towards the table where he left a few documents. Seungcheol followed him, trying to get his attention. 

‘I do like you! Very much! I’m just saying maybe you should conta-’ 

‘Oh? You like me very much?’ Jeonghan smirked, making the barista even more flustered than before. 

‘Didn’t think you would be so bold, Seungcheol’ 

At those words, Seungcheol stopped in his tracks looking at Jeonghan. For some reason the author knowing his name gave him a small chill down his spin. ‘What did you say?’ 

‘That you’re bold?’

‘No not that… you just said my name’ Seungcheol said looking at Jeonghan, approaching him slowly. 

‘How do you know my name?’ 

Jeonghan cursed to himself, forgetting that this Seungcheol wasn’t the same as the dream Seungcheol he would see every night. He had to think of something quick, he thought. 

‘Your confession. I accept it.’ He looked up at Seungcheol and smiled widely, Hoping this would throw him off from the name slip. 

Seungcheol swore his cheeks were on fire. ‘Confession?? What confession?’ he asked, embarrassed. ‘What are you going on about?’

Jeonghan sighed and adjusted the straps of his tote. ‘Playing hard to get I see. Well two can play that game. I’ll see you tomorrow dear’ He winked before heading out, relieved that he didn't notice the name slip. 

Seungcheol swore he ascended at those words. Did he really just call him ‘dear’? Impossible, they just met and this was probably Jeonghan’s way of teasing. He didn’t realize that Jeonghan took this opportunity to leave the cafe until Mingyu came over and dragged him back to work. 

‘I’m not dreaming right?’ Seungcheol asked his friend for the 100th time that day. ‘Jeonghan Yoon called me dear’ he said repeating Jeonghan’s words. 

‘I’ll make you dream for real if you don’t snap out of it’ Minghao mumbled. 

‘Minhao... behave’ Mingyu warned the youngest. 

‘I am! He’s the one messing everything up! Look at the fool, he’s doing it wrong’ Minghao pointed at Seungcheol, horribly completing a latte order.

At Minghao’s words, Seungcheol stopped making the drink and looked at his creation. 

‘Wait a minute. He never answered my question.’

* * *

A few weeks went by since Seungcheol met Jeonghan. The author made it painfully obvious that he was interested in Seungcheol, while the barista wasn’t sure over Jeonghan’s intentions. He would talk himself out of Jeonghan’s advancements. Telling him that Jeonghan probably was like this with everyone. 

This baffled Jeonghan and decided the only way to get him to take the hints was to be at the cafe at all time. He was going to make Seungcheol want him so much even if it was the last thing he did. 

And it worked.

Seungcheol got so used to seeing Jeonghan that he memorized his routine. 

Every morning, Jeonghan would show up right when the shop opened and order a large mocha before heading to his favorite spot at the shop. Once he was settled in his seat, he would pull out his journal and a laptop before engrossing himself in his work until either Minhao or Seungcheol went over with his order. There he took the opportunity to procrastinate and take a break from his writing. He tried speaking to anyone who would give him the time of day about useless things. 

Seungcheol had found himself falling hard for Jeonghan. He tried to justify his feelings, telling himself maybe it was his fanboy self being excited to be around his favorite author and nothing more. He couldn’t shake the feeling like something was always pulling him towards Jeonghan. 

Whatever the reason, he knew one thing for sure. He started to look forward to coming to work every morning. Mingyu was surprised at how early his friend would arrive at the cafe, knowing he hated waking up at the ass crack of dawn. But to Seungcheol, it was worth it to see Jeonghan walk through his shop.

This morning was different. Jeonghan didn’t show up at all which worried Seungcheol.

‘What’s the big deal? He’s probably busy today’ Minghao commented, watching his boss pace behind the counter. 

‘Wouldn’t he let us know? What if something bad happened? What if he was in an accident or something’ Seungcheol said, biting his nails. He knew he was probably over exaggerating, but the dread feeling wasn’t leaving him alone, no matter how many times he tried to reassure himself. 

‘Why don’t you just call him?’ Minghao said, rolling his eyes. He didn’t understand why his boss was making such a big deal over one customer. ‘You are his boyfriend aren’t you?’

Seungcheol stopped in his tracks and turned around to face Minghao. ‘First of all, I-I am not his boyfriend…! Yet!’ he stuttered, caught off guard by Minghao. ‘Second of all, I don’t have his number’ 

Minghao looked at him with a disappointed look before sighing, ‘Here I thought you guys were something official but it turns out you’re just simping over a customer. That’s disgusting.’ 

He dug into his pocket, taking his phone out before gesturing to Seungcheol to do the same. 

‘I’m sending you his number.’

Seungcheol looked at Minghao shocked, ‘WHAT? How do you have his number??!’

Minghao cringed at how loud Seungcheol was being, ‘Keep it down, geeze...Mingyu and I just exchanged numbers with him one day.’ 

‘Wait so everyone has his number??’

‘Yeah’ Mingyu responded, coming out from the kitchen grinning. ‘I told Minghao to not tell you since we bet to see if you were brave enough to ask him for yourself.’

Seungcheol groaned frustrated with his two friends. ‘How could you betray me like this??’ 

Mingyu and Minghao laughed, entertained by Seungcheol’s reaction. 

‘Sorry boss, but in a capitalist society you gotta do what you gotta do. Now cough it up Mingyu, I know you’re trying to escape your fate’ Minghao said, turning to Mingyu and putting his hand out. 

Mingyu groaned and reached for his wallet giving Minghao a crispy fifty dollar bill. 

‘Why do I even bother siding with you Seungcheol if you always fail me. Now I am fifty dollars short. You should take responsibility over this.’ Mingyu teased, looking at Seuncheol who was now on the floor contemplating life and his friend choices. 

‘Stop sulking and text your not-really-boyfriend already. I’m going to take my fifteen.” Minghao said, before heading to the back. 

That right, Seungcheol thought. He finally had Jeonghan’s number. Maybe life wasn’t so bad. :)

‘Get up Seungcheol, before I actually use you as a human broom’ 

He takes it back. Life was only filled with despair. 


	3. The evening of Winter 2020

**The evening of Winter 2020.**

Fall came to an end and Winter rolled in, replacing falling leaves with snow. The cafe was closed today since Mingyu wanted to decorate the place differently and set up for the christmas holiday and swap pumpkin lattes for peppermint mocha. 

Everyone was busy except for Seungcheol. He was currently leaning against the counter texting Jeonghan, ignoring all responsibilities. The barista hadn’t stopped texting the author since the day he obtained his number.

It was awkward at first, he had to admit, but now texting and calling Jeonghan was second nature to him. Their conversation flowed so naturally and smoothly that he managed to score a few dates with the author. Something he never thought he could accomplish. 

Today was going to be his fourth date. He was excited to take Jeonghan to the movies. He had it all planned out perfectly. First he would pick up Jeonghan, then he would buy him popcorn and a drink. Once they found their seats and were settled, he would wait until the middle of the movie to pull the old trick of yawning to wrap his arm around Jeonghan.

Flawless, he thought. Any man would fall even further in love with him. 

Minghao thought otherwise. 

‘That’s WAY too cheesy’ Minghao said, making a face. ‘I don’t see why you’re tippy toeing around him. Just cuddle right away. Why wait until the middle of the movie?’

‘You don’t understand Minghao. I can’t just cuddle right away! What if I scare him off?’

‘Scare him off?? For fuck sake, you guys had several dates already AND have non stopped texted each other. Why would you scare him off now? You’re too cheesy Seungcheol.’ 

‘I think it’s cute,’ Mingyu said, jumping into the conversation as he came out with fresh pastries. ‘He’s just being a gentleman unlike some guys nowadays.’ he commented, putting the pastries in the display. 

Minghao scoffed, ‘Yeah, like you would know. You ghost everyone I try to set you up with’ he said rolling his eyes. 

This hit a nerve in Mingyu, ‘Listen, the guys you set me up with are WEIRD. Do you know what I had to go through the last time you arranged a date for me?’ 

‘Fine then ask Seungcheol to find you someone. I’m done being your wing man!’ 

‘Wait what?’ Seungcheol asked, confused on why they were bringing him into their quarrels. 

‘You know what? I will. Minghao, you’re fired. Seungcheol, you’re hired.’ With that said, Mingyu stormed to the back kitchen, leaving the tray of half displayed pastries on the counter. 

Seungcheol stared at the door, surprised that Mingyu was so passionate about finding a boyfriend. 

‘What was that about? How did my talk of dating end up to Mingyu’s dating life?’ Seungcheol asked, turning to Minghao who was obviously upset. 

‘I don’t know…’ Minghao said, aggressively grabbing a towel. ‘Ask him yourself’ with that said, he went over to wipe down tables that were already squeaky clean to distract himself. 

Seungchoel sighed looking at Minghao. What was he going to do about this situation? 

At that moment, his phone dinged. Indicating he received a text message from his love. 

Jeonghan: I think we need to reschedule the date ): 

Seungcheol: Did something come up? 

Jeonghan: Jihoon won’t let me out early to catch the movie because of a deadline approaching. TT_TT

Seungcheol: I thought you were on track with your deadline? 

Jeonghan: …I was :P

Seungcheol: Angel...you promised ):

Jeonghan: I know, but it’s hard to concentrate. Maybe if I were around you ;)

Seungcheol: Then come over. The shop is closed to the public today. It’ll be quiet and I get to see you. 

Jeonghan: okay. I’ll try to convince Jihoon :)

Seungcheol put his phone down and looked at the pastries Mingyu left on the counter. Why was he baking anyways if the shop was closed? He decided he would check up on his friend and head to the kitchen. 

‘Mingyu?’

Mingyu was sulking looking at a recipe book. ‘What?’ He mumbled, turning away from Seungcheol. 

‘What’s wrong? You can’t be this upset over what Minghao said.’ Seungcheol said, approaching him and placing his hand on his shoulder. ‘And don’t say it isn’t anything. You stress bake when something is wrong’ 

Mingyu let out a defeated sigh, knowing he couldn’t fool his friend. 

‘I’m just sick and tired of dating people who don’t care about me at all...Every date Minghao set up for me I have to initiate it. I have to plan it and execute it...After dates most of them don’t even text me unless I text first’

He looked up at Seungcheol, ‘Is it so bad for wanting someone who would do those things for you first? Who cares enough to text you after a date or ask how your day has been?’ 

‘No it’s not...That’s how a relationship should be. You give and take...’ Seungcheol said, rubbing his friend’s back, trying to comfort him. He hated seeing Mingyu upset, or any of his friends for that matter. 

‘...shit Mingyu...I didn’t know that's how it was’ 

Mingyu and Seungcheol both looked up, seeing Minghao standing near the doorway. ‘I’m sorry...I thought they were good people…’ He said in a soft voice approaching Mingyu.

‘It’s not your fault, I just have horrible luck in men.’ Mingyu said standing up and hugging Minghao. ‘I’m sorry for getting angry at you’ 

‘I’m sorry for getting angry at you too,’ Minghao said, hugging Mingyu back. 

‘Awwh, did we walk in a hug fest?’ 

Everyone turned to look at Jeonghan and Jihoon. They were all shocked to see the two in the cafe. 

‘We didn’t want to disturb the moment so we decided to let ourselves in’ Jeonghan said, wiggling a pair of keys in the air. 

This caused Minghao to pull away quickly from Mingyu and look at Seungcheol. ‘What the hell? You haven't even reached second base with him and you already gave the keys to the cafe!?’ 

‘Yeah, Seungcheol, that’s fucked up logic’ Mingyu said. 

‘Hey! I just gave it to him just in case’ Seungcheol countered, pouting. ‘You never know...what if we all lost the key to the shop or something…’

‘I’m sorry to interrupt but Jeonghan said you gave him permission to work here. Is that still okay?’ Jihoon asked. 

‘Yeah, of course. Feel free to sit anywhere, I can fix you two some coffee’ Seungcheol said guiding them out the kitchen leaving Mingyu and Minghao alone. 

‘Who was that?’ 

Minghao looked at Mingyu weirdly, ‘Who? The short guy? That’s Jihoon. Jeonghan’s manager’ 

‘He’s cute’ 

Minghao shoved Mingyu, shaking his head. ‘You fall in love too easily’ 

With that, Minghao left Mingyu alone in the kitchen.

‘What can't I say he’s cute??’ He called out, rubbing his arm. 

* * *

Hours went by in the cafe with little to no process in decorating. Everyone was getting easily distracted, especially Seungcheol. The barista kept looking over at Jeonghan, obviously distracted by the author’s presence. 

‘Mingyu what time is it?’ Seungcheol asked for the fifth time that hour. 

‘Seven pm. Now would you quit asking me that? You’re honestly driving me crazy’ Mingyu said, putting some ornaments on the top of the tree. 

Seungcheol ignored Mingyu and looked over to Jeonghan. He pouted thinking over the plans they had. Tonight wasn’t supposed to be like this at all. It was supposed to be a romantic night at the theater. If only Jihoon wasn’t here, he could have taken Jeonghan to the movies...

He suddenly got an idea. 

‘Mingyu?’ Seungcheol called out, shaking the ladder Mingyu was on. 

Mingyu quickly held onto the ladder, ‘STOP THAT’ he squeeked. 

Seungcheol quickly stopped. ‘Sorry Sorry.’ He said, grabbing the ladder tightly, trying to reassure the other he won’t do it again. ‘I think I figured out a way I can take Jeonghan to the movies tonight. ’ 

Mingyu looked down at him with a disappointed face, ‘Give it up Seungcheol. You know Jihoon won’t let you take Jeonghan anywhere today’ He said looking over at the other side of the cafe to where Jeonghan and Jihoon were sitting. 

‘I know, that’s why you should distract him while I sneak Jeonghan out through the back door’ 

‘What??’ Mingyu said, scandalized. ‘How on earth am I going to distract Jihoon? I barely know the guy!’ 

‘Exactly, you have nothing to lose if you make a fool out of yourself.’ 

‘What type of logic is that?’ 

‘Please, Mingyu? Do it for your best friend in the whole world and business partner~’ Seungcheol begged. 

After a bit of silence, Mingyu sighed and nodded. ‘Fine. But you owe me.’ He said, as he climbed down the ladder. 

Seungcheol smiled widely, excited and happy that his friend agreed to help him. ‘Thank you so much Mingyu.’ 

Mingyu looked over at Jihoon and took a deep breath. ‘Alright here I go’ he said, feeling his heart pounding a bit. Fuck why was he so nervous? He thought as he walked over to Jihoon. 

‘Hey Jihoon’

Jihoon looked up at Mingyu, ‘Hey’ 

* * *

‘Seungcheol slow down!’ Jeonghan called out, laughing as they ran down the street in the cold winter air. 

Seungcheol complied, also laughing. ‘I can’t believe that actually worked’ He said grinning at Jeonghan and turning to look at him. He noted how beautiful Jeonghan looked under the city lights. 

It reminded him of his dream. The Jeonghan in his dream looked exactly like this. He could recall every detail, right after the movies, his dream self was also staring at Jeonghan as if he was his whole world.

He didn’t realize that he was lost in his thoughts until Jeonghan reached out and gently grabbed his hand. Jeonghan seemed to have noticed how he went quiet.

‘Seungcheol?’ He softly called out. 

Seungcheol blinked and looked at Jeonghan, ‘Sorry, I just got lost in your eyes for a second there.’ He grinned, chuckling a bit before Jeonghan smacked him in the arm. 

‘Yeah right...What were you thinking about?’

Seungcheol reached to push back some of Jeonghan’s hair from his face. ‘You of course...’ He said, giving him a dreamy smile. 

‘Oh really? What about me?’ Jeonghan said, loving how chessy Seungcheol was being. 

Seungcheol hummed, pretending to think. Jeonghan smacked him again making the barista chuckle. ‘I was just admiring how pretty you look in the city lights. It just reminded me of a dream’ 

Jeonghan's eyes widened a bit. He wondered if Seungcheol finally was having the same dream as him. ‘What dream?’ He asked suddenly, squeezing his hand. His reaction surprised Seungcheol.

‘I’ll tell you later. I don’t want to ruin the mood,’ Seungcheol assured, looking at Jeonghan pouting. ‘Hey don’t pout or I might just kiss you’ He teased. 

‘Oh? Kiss me?’ Jeonghan smirked, ‘Well I might just continue to pout then~’ he hummed. 

This caused Seungcheol to blush. He coughed to fix his composer, ‘W-we should get going-’ he said, pulling Jeonghan along. 

After a lot of delays, they got to the theater just in time. Seungcheol didn’t realize how long it had been since he’s been in one and for some reason it was giving him strange chills. He looked over at Jeonghan to see if he felt the same, however the author seemed to be doing just fine. 

They got their tickets and headed to their seats. Jeonghan picked the ones all the way to the back,’ in order to have some privacy’ he had argued with Sungcheol. Sitting down at their seats, Seungcheol was trying his best not to let the dread feeling get the best of him. He wanted to enjoy this moment with Jeonghan. It was his idea anyways to watch a movie. 

‘Seungcheol…? Are you okay?’ Jeonghan whispered, sounding concern for the barista.

Seungcheol nodded, not having noticed how his hand was slightly shaking. ‘A-ah yeah...I’m okay, just cold I suppose’ He lied. Jeonghan looked at him for a while before nodding and turning back at his phone, as they waited for the movie to start. 

He knew why his body was reacting this way and why he was feeling so anxious just sitting here. It was because of his irrational fear of the dark. Ever since he was a child, he would have panic episodes if he was in a pitch black space and unfortunately he hadn’t anticipated the theater being so dark.

The only two people who knew about this irrational fear were Mingyu and Minghao. He wouldn’t dare tell anyone about it because he felt it was a silly thing to fear for his age. However, now he was in a dilemma. Jeonghan, the guy he liked so much, might find out and for some reason that terrified him. 

Seungcheol pulled on his collar a bit, feeling as if he was being suffocated. His thoughts were scrambled, as he tried to think on what to do. 

Should he tell Jeonghan? 

What if he didn’t like him anymore if he found out?

What if--

‘Seungcheol!’ 

His mind was so occupied telling him to get up and run out of the theater that he couldn’t hear his boyfriend . As much as he wanted to leave, he was frozen. He couldn’t move a muscle. The fear gripped him further and he could feel the overwhelming sense of dread consuming his mind, making him dizzy. 

‘Breathe Seungcheol. Take deep breaths’ Jeonghan said, grabbing his face so Seungcheol could look at him.

Seungcheol looked at him, petrified. Jeonghan’s voice sounded as if he was underwater. He wanted to answer him but his throat was fighting against him, clamping up. 

‘I-I can’t’ Seungcheol managed to say, wheezing. 

It broke Jeonghan’s heart, seeing him this way. ‘Yes you can, Seungcheol. Breathe with me. In...and Out...like this’ Jeonghan calmly said, demonstrating and making sure the other was watching him. 

Seungcheol focused on Jeonghan as he struggled to copy his breathing. He could barely make out the praises Jeonghan was giving him. He soon felt his head lighter and the feeling of dread slowly subsided as Jeonghan continued to speak to him. 

It was comforting to Seungcheol to know Jeonghan was still there with him. This helped him slowly get his breathing back to normal. 

After what felt like an eternity, He reached out with shaky hands and pulled Jeonghan as close as he could, with an arm rest between them, and let his head fall on his shoulder as exhaustion took over his entire body. 

Seungcheol strangely knew he didn’t have to say anything, knowing the other understood how drained he was. He closed his eyes and let his mind focus on Jeonghan’s gentle backrubs.

‘Come on let’s go home’ Jeonghan softly said, as he continued rubbing his back. 

‘But the movie…’ He mumbled. 

‘It’ll be boring anyways, come on’ 

* * *

Jeonghan had managed to guide Seungcheol to his apartment complex and safely got him onto his couch so he could sit down. 

‘You don’t have to explain.’ Jeonghan said, knowing Seungcheol would want to clarify what had happened in the theater.

This comment caused the barista to look up at him and shake his head. ‘No, you deserve an explanation. I ruined our night.’

Jeonghan sat next to him and pulled him closer, so Seungcheol could lean against him. In their short time of dating, he found that Seungcheol enjoyed physical contact and reassurance. He wrapped an arm around him and rubbed his shoulder.

‘Don’t say that, you couldn’t help what happened.’ he said softly. ‘Besides, the night is just starting,’ he said with a small smile. 

Seungcheol snuggled closer to Jeonghan and closed his eyes, nodding at his boyfriend. 

A comfortable silence fell between them as they enjoyed each other’s presence. After a few minutes Seungcheol broke the silence. 

‘Promise you won’t laugh?’ He mumbled quietly. 

Jeonghan nodded. 

‘You know...I’m really scared of the dark,’ he said, voice barely above a whisper. 

Jeonghan continued rubbing his shoulder and pulled him closer, giving his boyfriend a small hum to indicate he was listening. 

‘I thought I would grow out of it by now...But the idea of being in a dark place just terrifies me...It makes me feel trapped and hopeless…’ Seungcheol said. ‘I didn’t realize the theater would be so dark-- It’s been years since I’ve visited one so I thought I would be okay because you were there. I’m so--’ 

‘Shh, It’s okay, Seungcheol...Really.’ His boyfriend said in a reassuring voice, cutting off Seungcheol from rambling on. ‘Since you told me your biggest fear. How about I tell you mine?’

‘You don’t have to-’

‘I want too though.’ Seungcheol stared into Jeonghan’s eyes and slowly nodded. 

Jeonghan intertwined his fingers with Seungcheol, “I’m scared of loud sudden noises.” he said quietly. “Especially those that sound similar to a-”

“Gunshot.” Seungcheol quietly said.

Jeonghan looked at him with a surprised look, “Yeah! Sudden bangs and explosions send me into panic attacks...how did you guess?” 

Seungcheol moved away to sit up straight on the couch, facing Jeonghan. “Don’t freak out, okay? But I’ve had the same dream every night before I met you. It became less frequent when we started to hang out, I think it has something to do with us.” 

“Is it about a theater date gone wrong?” Jeonghan said quietly, “Because I’ve had the same dream every night too. That’s how I found you.”

Seungcheol stared at Jeonghan, confused. 

“I would always frequent the shop but when I heard your name from Mingyu one day, I knew I was dreaming about you.” 

Jeonghan scooted closer to Seungcheol, closing the gap between them. He reached up and caressed his cheek. “Seungcheol...This might be crazy, but I honestly believe we’re soulmates...”

He looked into Seungcheol’s eyes, searching to see if he felt the same way. 

Seungcheol felt his throat dry up from hearing the words soulmates, “T- that's so cheesy,” he mumbled, obviously flustered. “Soulmates…? Isn’t that in fairy tales?” 

Jeonghan shook his head, “Think about it...It can’t just be a coincidence that we have the same recurring dream...what if whatever happened in the dream really happened to us?’

Seungcheol frowned his eyebrows, “I-I don’t understand, like we actually...DIED? Jeonghan, you're basically saying that those people in our dreams existed.” He felt a shiver go down his spine at the thought. 

Jeonghan retracted his hand, seeing how freaked out Seungcheol was getting, “Hey...I know it’s a lot and I’m honestly just making baseless assumptions…” He gave the barista some space, “If it’s okay, Let’s put this convo on hold. It’s late and I’m sure you’re tired…” 

Seungcheol looked at Jeonghan as he got up from the couch and extended his hand towards him. 

“Come on, I’ll show you where my room is and get you a change of clothes.” Jeonghan said with a soft smile. 

* * *

“So you slept over at Jeonghan and that was it?” Minghao said a bit too loudly for Seungcheol. 

“Shh, y-yes okay. But nothing happened” he whispered, trying to bring the youngster’s voice down. 

Minghao rolled his eyes and smiled, “Relax, no ones around. We aren’t even open yet.” he assured his boss, giving him a pat on the back. “Why are you so embarrassed anyways?”

“Who's embarrassed over what?” Mingyu said as he entered the cafe, setting his bag behind the counter. “What tea are you spilling that I am not here for?”

“You honestly didn’t miss much. Seungcheol was just telling me how he had a sleepover with Jeonghan yesterday” Minghao said nonchalantly. 

“Minghao!” 

“WHAT?” Mingyu gasped, going towards Seungcheol. He grabbed him by his shoulder. “You did what now? Omg dude, really? You gotta tell me the details!” 

Minghao made a face when Mingyu said, “Imma go polish the tables...some more” He said, before taking his leave, obviously not wanting to hear the details. 

Seungcheol turned bright red and pushed his best friend off of him. “I-It wasn’t like that! I literally just slept over. Nothing more.” 

Mingyu frowned. “Really?” He saw Seungcheol nod and sigh, “Damn, and here I thought you’d finally had gotten some action-OW!” 

Seungcheol punched him in the arm, “Watch it. I am still your boss.” 

Mingyu winced and nodded, “Yeah yeah” he rubbed his arm. “How did the movie date go?” He asked, hoping to get some sort of information out of Seungcheol. 

“Ah...I freaked out” Seungcheol mumbled. “Thankfully I didn’t freak Jeonghan out much. I think I’m just relieved he was really understanding.”

Mingyu gave him a reassuring smile and rubbed his back, “that’s good he understood…” 

“Yeah...we also ended up talking about the dreams I’ve been having…he brought up the idea that those were like past memories or something” 

Mingyu furrowed his eyebrows and looked at him confused, “ the weird nightmare you would always get?” 

Seungcheol nodded, “yeah...we have the same dream every night and he said we’re soulmates but I don’t know…” 

“He had the same dream? Seungcheol that’s kinda weird” Mingyu said deep in thought “ have you guys tried looking into your dream yet? Maybe you guys really are soulmates” 

“Mingyu that’s crazy. Soulmates aren’t real” 

“No no, hear me out. It’s strange that you two have the exact same dream. It has to be something...how cool would it be if you two are actual destined lovers? Or telepathic??” Mingyu nudged Seungcheol, trying to keep the mood up.

Seungcheol sighed and nodded, “Um…I should probably look into this. I’ll probably head to the library after work to look at old newspapers, there might be something there.” 

“Can I come along?” Mingyu asked, obviously excited to play detective. 

Seungcheol sighed and nodded, smiling at the taller man. “Of course you can” 

* * *

“Why did I agree to this?” Seungcheol groaned, letting himself get dragged by Mingyu by the hand into the archive section of the library. “We won’t find anything. Mingyu let’s just go back please” 

“Come on you’re telling me you aren’t curious about your dream? It’ll be quick, if we don’t find something within an hour, we’ll leave okay?”

“Fine,” Seungcheol said, sighing in defeat. He didn’t know why, but he was getting goosebumps at the idea of actually finding something. He stared at Mingyu who looked through the pile of old newspapers that were neatly put away. “What are you doing?” 

“Trying to see if you landed the front page. What was the theater's name? Do you remember?” Mingyu said as he continued to carefully check each newspaper. 

Seungcheol frowned, deep in thought. “I...I don’t know...all I remember is the names were the same as our own, Seungcheol and Jeonghan…” he brushed his fingers through his hair trying to think of any other details,”...the dream always starts with us leaving the theater and going into an alleyway…”

“And getting mugged at night?” Mingyu suddenly said, pulling a newspaper out.

Seungcheol looked over at his friend,”yeah…”

“I might have found something...here” Mingyu said, handing the newspaper over. “ It’s an issue of the _Daily Carat_ in 1970 that covered a story similar to your dream” 

Seuncheol stared at the newspaper. The front page had a picture of a closed off alleyway. His hands shook as he read the title. 

**TWO BODIES FOUND NEAR THEATER.**

“Cheol? You okay?” Mingyu asked in a soft voice. He noticed how shaky his friend’s hand was as he turned the page. 

Seungcheol didn’t answer, lost in his own thoughts. As he continued reading the article he started to find many uncanny similarities. 

_Two male adults were seen exiting the theater after a late night showing of_ **_Love and Death_ ** _._

Seungcheol’s head started to spin. 

_Their bodies were found in an alleyway with their possessions missing, both shot dead. The murderer is still in the loose and police are asking for any eye witnesses to help aid with the investigation._

The article went on about who the two males were. Jeonghan and Seungcheol, Both 25 at the time of death. Seungcheol was sure the article had more details but he couldn’t process any of the words he was reading. 

Mingyu seemed to sense something was wrong and gently placed his hand on Seungcheol’s shoulder, bringing him out of his thoughts. “‘Cheol...Breath.” 

Seungcheol nodded and put down the newspaper before taking deep breaths. ‘What the fuck Mingyu...This...This is crazy”

Mingyu nodded and guided him to sit, worried over his friend rather than the discovery. “What are you thinking…?” he carefully asked, seeing Seungcheol looking down at his hands. 

Seungcheol bit his lip thinking of Jeonghan. “This has to be a sick joke right?” He looked at Mingyu. He was so confused. “Please Mingyu, it’s just a coincidence right?” 

“Seungcheol…”

“ _Mingyu_ . If that article is right...We...we were _killed._ ” he looked at his friend with confused eyes. “Jeonghan and I were murdered by some sick guy in the 1970 who wanted our cash” he explained, his voice rising as he slowly got angry at this whole situation. “Now I’m supposed to just read this and be okay? Like what am I supposed to do with this information? That we got reincarnated for what reason?!” 

Mingyu flinched a bit when Seuncheol yelled. “Listen Seungcheol. You obviously have a lot of questions that I don’t have answers to but maybe Jeonghan does.“ He said, trying to calm his friend down. He looked around hoping no one was eavesdropping. “You should tell him about this…”

Seungcheol looked at his phone, nodding slowly. “Y-yeah...Sorry...I’ll talk to him.” 

* * *

“So where the hell were you last night?” Jihoon walked into Jeonghan’s office, placing down a folder on his desk. 

“Before I say anything, how was your date?” Jeonghan smugly said, not looking up from his laptop. 

“W-what” Jihoon blushed, taken aback by the question. “What date? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

Jeonghan looked up from his laptop, “You can’t fool anyone Jihoon, we all know how in love you are with Mingyu” he teased, “And you were alone with him yesterday at the shop when Seungcheol and I left.” He said, continuing to tease the shorter man.

Jihoon cleared his throat and sat down near his desk, “That’s none of your business. ANYWAYS, I came to talk to you regarding the book you’re writing. The company wants to release it at the beginning of summer this year...Would that be enough time for you?”

Jeonghan looked at Jihoon, “Do I have a choice? I doubt the company would want to push it back.” He sighed. 

“Yeah, but if you need the time I can see if I can pull a few strings” Jihoon assured. “I just want to make sure you’re not under too much pressure. You are our best writer here” he said smiling at the man. 

Jeonghan sighed and nodded, “I am aware of that…” He noticed his phone buzzing next to his laptop. The screen had Seungcheol’s name lit up. “Uhm...Jihoon, can we put this meeting on hold?”

“What? Jeonghan, we need to talk about this.” 

“And we did. I’ll be right back, I just need to take this call” Jeonghan said, standing up and leaving the room without giving Jihoon a chance to refute his decision. 

Jihoon stared at the door Jeonghan slammed closed and sighed. “What am I going to do with you Jeonghan?” he mumbled and groaned, slipping down on his chair a bit. 

Once Jeonghan was outside the office he answered the phone quickly. “Seungcheol?”

There was silence on the other side which made Jeonghan worry a bit. “Seungcheol you there?” He tried again, hoping the other would answer. 

“Jeonghan…” 

Jeonghan let out a sigh of relief when he heard his boyfriend's voice. “Is everything okay?” he quickly responded. 

“Yeah...I just...Can...Can we meet up?” 

Jeonghan quickly looked around for a clock and checked his phone real quick. It was 5 minutes to midnight. “Yeah of course love. Where would you like to meet up?” He asked as he went back to his office while still on the phone, surprising Jihoon. 

Jihoon made a gesture and asked if everything was okay. Jeonghan nodded to the man as he started to pack up. 

“Can we meet up at your place?” 

“Of course. I’ll meet you at the entrance in 10 minutes. I was just leaving work” Jeonghan said sweetly into the phone as he waved goodbye to Jihoon and slammed the door closed leaving a very confused Jihoon behind. 

Jeonghan quickly said his goodbyes to Seungcheol over the phone and booked it to his apartment. He was glad he lived so close to the publishing building especially now during this cold harsh winter. 

When he arrived at his apartment he noticed Seungcheol sitting on the stair steps to his apartment. He was shivering from the cold. Jeonghan rushed over, seeing how underdressed he was for the weather. 

“Seungcheol! Where’s your jacket? You’ll catch a cold” he scolded the other as he unlocked the door and pushed him in his warm apartment. 

“Sorry, Didn’t really think about the weather when I came over” Seungcheol mumbled.

“How did you not think? It’s below freezing and the news even sai--” Seungcheol cut Jeonghan off with a sudden tight hug. 

“Seungcheol?” Jeonghan slowly wrapped his arm around him, hugging him back. “...You okay? Did something happen…?” 

Seungcheol buried his face into Jeonghan’s neck. “...Jeonghan...What if you were right? That we’re soulmates?”

“What about it?” Jeonghan answered quietly, rubbing Seungcheol’s back in an attempt to ease his boyfriend. “Would it be a bad thing we’re soulmates?” 

Seungcheol pulled away a bit from his embrace and looked at Jeonghan. “...I...I guess not...I just…” He took a deep breath before continuing, “I...looked into our dreams...and I think you were right…” he quietly said, “Our dreams are really our past memories, Jeonghan…and...I’m just scared.” 

Jeonghan reached over and pushed a strand of hair out of Seungcheol’s face. “What are you scared of?” he asked, looking into his boyfriend's eyes, “That the same events might happen?” 

Seungcheol nodded, “That terrifies me...I...I don’t ever want that to happen to us. I can’t imagine how the past Seungcheol must have felt...seeing his Jeonghan on the floor dying” he shakingly said. 

“Seungcheol” Jeonghan called out to him, making sure his boyfriend isn’t getting lost in his thoughts. “That Seungcheol and Jeonghan isn’t us...This is our life. They unfortunately ended in tragedy but that won’t happen to us. I’ll make sure of it” He said with full confidence. 

“Think of it this way,” Jeonghan continued, “Maybe we were reincarnated as a second chance?” 

“A second chance?” 

Jeonghan nodded, “ A second chance for a happy ending” 

Seungcheol stared at Jeonghan before they both burst into a laughing frenzy. “That was the cheesiest thing you ever said to me” 

“What? Can’t I say cheesy things to my boyfriend?” Jeonghan giggled. 

Seungcheol shook his head and smiled, “Thanks Jeonghan…You always know what to say to make me feel better” 

Jeonghan tangled his fingers with Seuncheol and gave a small hum. “You know Seungcheol...I was being serious...Do you want to spend the second chance with me?”

Seungcheol stared at Jeonghan, cheeks going red as he started to get flustered. “What...That’s a dumb question” he mummbled shyly. “O-of course…”

Jeonghan smiled and slowly leaned forward and kissed Seungcheol. 

At first Seungcheol went stiff but after a few seconds he melted in the kiss. He slowly reached out and wrapped his arms around Jeonghan’s waist pulling him closer and deepening the kiss.

Jeonghan slowly trailed his hand up into Seungcheol’s hair and tangled his fingers as Seungcheol slowly guided them to the nearest wall, pinning Jeonghan there as they continued making out. 

Seungcheol slipped his hand under Jeonghan’s shirt which caused the other to let out a small noise from how cold his boyfriend's hand was on his skin. A ‘sorry’ mumbled out before Jeonghan took this opportunity to slowly pull away from the kiss.

“Come on let’s go to my room” He breathlessly said, pulling Seungcheol with him “We can continue there” he giggled.

‘Right’ Seungcheol said, obviously still on cloud nine. 


	4. The Last Night of Spring 2020

**The Last Night of Spring 2020.**

“Thank you so much for letting us use your cafe for the book launch, Seungcheol,” Jihoon said, giving Seungcheol a small bow. 

“It’s no problem at all! You should thank Mingyu, He was the one that insisted that the book launch should be here” Seungcheol smiled at Jihoon. 

This got Jihoon to blush a bit, “Ah, Mingyu did? I’ll have to thank him later then” He smiled at Seungcheol. “I’ll come back this weekend with the books and papers and we can set up then” 

Seungcheol nodded and smiled, “Let me know if you need any help!” 

“I will, thanks. Take care” Jihoon waved as he left the cafe. 

Minghao waved goodbye to the short man before locking the cafe door behind him. “Mingyu said that he’s almost done with the kitchen and then we can head out” he called, heading towards Seungcheol. 

“Does he need any help?” Seungcheol asked. 

Before Minghao could respond Mingyu appeared out of nowhere scaring the two, “Nope. All done. Ready when you guys are” 

“Jesus!” Seungcheol squeaked. 

“Nope, name’s Mingyu.”

“Can I murder him please?” Minghao mumbled before beelining to his car. 

“Hurry up or I’m leaving you two behind” he called out. 

“Come on Seungcheol, let go before he actually does leave us” Mingyu chuckled and followed Minghao. 

“Right…” Seungcheol sighed and followed the two out of the cafe. “Thanks again for giving us a ride” he said to Minghao as they all started to get into the car while Mingyu locked the back door of the cafe. 

“Not at all. I’m always happy to help” Minghao said as he started the car. “So why did Jihoon come in at the last second?” 

“Ah, he wanted to just thank me and measure the space a bit. Apparently they’re anticipating a lot of people for their book release” Seungcheol explained. 

“Speaking of the book, have you read it yet?” Mingyu suddenly asked, opening the door. “ Tell us a sneak peek if you have!” 

Seungcheol smiled and rolled his eyes, “You think Jeonghan tells me what he writes? He’s pretty secretive when it comes to his work. Last night, I tried to peep at the first pages but for some reason he found out I was in the room! He’s like a hawk” 

“Or you’re just bad at sneaking around,” Minghao teased. 

Once Mingyu was in the car Minghao started to drive, heading to Seungcheol destination first. 

“Hey! I tried to be quiet…” Seungcheol mumbled. “He did tell me something weird when I got caught last night though. He told me he’ll have a surprise when I get home”

“Ewww, we didn’t need to know that” Mingyu teased. 

Seungcheol blushed and punched him hard on the arm. “Get your mind out the gutter! I didn’t mean that! ”

Minghao chuckled, “But technically Seungcheol, you don’t really know what this surprise would entail. So technically, Mingyu might be right”

“What?? Jeonghan wouldn’t do that!” Seungcheol squeaked. “...Or would he?” he said, looking at Minghao and Mingyu. 

Mingyu shrugged “I don't know, that’s your forte” 

The car was filled with laughter as Seungcheol pouted and looked out at the driver’s seat. “Haha, very funny” He looked at his phone and saw a message from Jeonghan. He clicked on the notification and a picture of his boyfriend holding up a book was pulled up. 

Jeonghan: Hurry home. I got you a present. ;)

“GUYS!” Seungcheol yelled happily, scaring the shit out of the other two. “Jeonghan got me a copy of his book!” 

“Wait?? Are you serious?? Dude! That’s awesome!” Mingyu said, grinning widely and looking at his phone. 

“That’s awesome. You gotta let us read it some time” Minghao said, happy for his friend. 

“Of course! Oh man I’m so excited” Seungcheol said, he was practically vibrating in his seat from the excitement. 

At that moment no one realized the danger they were in as a high speed car chase was happening a few streets down. 

“Hey Seungcheol, your place is down this road?” Minghao asked.

“Yeah just pass this intersection,” Seungcheol said, pointing at the street. 

Mingyu looked to the right and his eyes widened, “MINGHAO LOOK OUT” He shouted. 

“Wha-” Minghao’s heart jumped at the shout, confused. He then saw the headlights to his right. He knew it was too late. 

The sounds of tire screeching and the sound of twisted metal was heard throughout the neighborhood. There was a deadly quietness that fell onto the night. The police sirens slowly growing louder and louder to where the crash had just occurred. 

\---

Jeonghan was sitting in the living room waiting for his boyfriend to come home. He kept checking his phone for new texts. He found it strange that Seungcheol hasn’t responded to him in 30 minutes. It was even stranger that he wasn’t home yet. 

“He said he was 5 minutes away” he sighed. He didn’t pay attention to the sound of ambulances going through his neighborhood. He brushed it off as normal. He lived in the city and a few ambulances and police sirens were just everyday noises to him. 

There was a feeling he couldn’t shake however. It was a feeling telling him that something horrible had happened. To ease his mind he decided to go out and see if he could meet up with the group. Maybe they got stuck in traffic? He thought. 

He grabbed a few items before heading out and started his walk towards the sound. He tried to think of another way to walk around the situation, however, his neighborhood only had that entrance to the main highway. 

As he started to approach the scene he couldn’t help but be curious. 

He noticed a car that was very familiar to him was turned upside down along with another car that wasn’t looking as great either. 

The closer he got the more frantic the scene. Firefighters pulled out one passenger from the wreck and his heart dropped. 

He saw Minghao groaning in pain as paramedics swarmed him. 

“Nononono” Jeonghan mumbled, stumbling towards the scene. 

A police officer quickly stopped Jeonghan. “Sir this is an active scene please step back” 

“I know them.” Jeonghan said looking at the officer. He didn’t realize how much he was shaking, “Please I need to see them” 

The police officer looked conflicted, “You can’t. We’re still in process of a resc-” at that moment a firefighter shouted out, ‘We got another one!’ loudly. Jeonghan looked over and saw paramedics rush over. 

It was Seungcheol. 

Jeonghan’s world stopped at that moment. Seungcheol looked so fragital and lifeless. He pushed back the officer and followed the paramedics with his boyfriend, calling out his name. He couldn’t hear the officer yelling after him and he brushed off anyone who tried to stop him from getting to Seungcheol.

“Y-You have to help him,” Jeonghan managed to say, grabbing Seungcheol’s hand tightly. His breath caught in his throat. 

The paramedics gave Jeonghan some quick reassuring words as they started to do first aid on Seungcheol before one medic managed to pull him away. 

The medic held him back as the other’s started to get to work. Every sound was muffled but there were just a few words that he managed to hear. 

“We’re not getting a pulse!” 

Please. 

“He’s not breathing!” 

Please no.

“Get him hooked on a resuscitator stat!” 

Jeonghan’s breathing started to quicken, the world spinning. A paramedic guided him to sit down. He knew he shouldn’t be watching but he couldn’t bring himself to look away at the scene. 

He saw them rolling Seungcheol onto an ambulance quickly. 

“I..I need to go with them.” Jeonghan said to the medic. 

The medic shook his head, “There’s to many people in there. We’re taking them to Mercy’s Hospital. You can see them there. Please stay here. They’re all in good hands” 

Jeonghan gave a small nod as he saw the ambulance leave with Seungcheol. He could still feel where Seungcheol’s cold hands touched his. 

The medic that was with him left, leaving Jeonghan alone in the cold spring night. 

* * *

Jeonghan had managed to call Jihoon. The man was obviously confused on why Jeonghan was calling him so late at night however all his questions were thrown out the window when he heard Jeonghan’s broken voice. The author tried to explain what happened. 

Jihoon heart dropped but he knew he had to be strong for Jeonghan right now. He quickly assured the author and got into his car to pick up Jeonghan. 

Once they got to the hospital they were met with a hectic scene. 

Jihoon quickly told Jeonghan to sit down and then made his way to the desk asking about their friends’ conditions. 

Meanwhile, Jeonghan was staring at his hands, his mind completely blank. He couldn’t believe this was happening. 

Jihoon quickly made his way back. “They told us to wait...a doctor will give us an update on them soon.” He sat down, shaking, looking at the double doors that lead to the emergency patients. “I-I’m sure everything will be okay Jeonghan.” 

Jeonghan bit his lip and nodded. “Y-yeah.” 

Jihoon looked over to the author and held his hand for reassurance. 

Time felt slow as they waited for any news. Jihoon paced back and forth, while Jeonghan sat in the same spot, staring at a picture of Seungcheol. 

“Please god...Please...this was our second chance” he said quietly to himself. 

After a few hours in, a doctor came out with a nurse which got Jeonghan to stand up and look at the two with hope. The doctor looked at the nurse before delivering news no lover or friend would want to hear. 

“We are sorry but...your three friends didn’t make it” 

Jihoon stood there staring at the doctor as if he had spoken a different language. “Excuse me?”

“Mr.Lee, we tried everything. However they succumbed to their injuries…We called their death at 4:30 this morning ” The doctor said.

“You can’t just call it. They can’t be go-”

“Can we go see them?” Jeonghan suddenly said to cut off Jihoon. This took everyone aback on how straight forward he was being. “Please...I just would like to see them one last time” He said quietly. 

The doctor nodded, “This way” 

Jihoon grabbed Jeonghan’s hand, stopping him from following the doctor. “Jeonghan...are you sure you’re okay to see them right now?”

Jeonghan looked at Jihoon and smiled sadly, “Are you…?”

Jihoon gave nothing but a small nod before following Jeonghan in. 

Frantic foot steps could be heard coming towards them, which made the two turn around. 

“DOCTOR!” A young man shouted, grabbing the doctor’s coat tightly. “Please I’m Minghao Xu’s friend. He can’t be dead. Please tell me he’s alive” 

The doctor looked flustered at the sudden attack from the younger male. “Sir, I am very sorry for your loss, as we told these two gentelmen: we tried everything in our power to save them... We were about to go see them. Please let me go and follow us if you’d like.” 

The young man slowly retracted his hands and took a step back, nodding. “S-sorry...I just..I can’t believe it…” 

Jeonghan looked over at Jihoon wondering if he knew of him. He just received a confused look from the other man. 

The nurse spoke up breaking everyone's train of thought, “Please follow me”

The young man quietly followed behind Jihoon and Jeonghan as they got to the hospital morgue. 

“A..are you two Jihoon and Jeonghan?” The man asked in a quiet voice. 

Jeonghan nodded, “Yes, we were good friends of Minghao.”

The man nodded, “My name is Wen Junhui. I was Minghao’s roommate and best friend,” he said, rubbing his eyes. Tears were already flowing. “He would talk about you two alot, especially his co-workers, Seungcheol and Mingyu...He really liked your books Jeonghan...I’m sure he never said it but, he was a big fan. When you came to the cafe that one day, Minghao was so excited to have you as a regular.” Jun rambled. 

Jeonghan nodded, smiling sadly. “Really? He was good at hiding it then…” He said quietly. “He’s a good kid...”

Jihoon stayed quiet, his mind too filled with thoughts to pay attention to the conversation. 

The nurse stopped at the door. “You’ll have an hour with them...I’ll be outside to give you three some privacy…” 

Everyone nodded and held their breaths as the nurse opened the door for them. 

Jeonghan's heart was shaking. He took a deep breath before entering the room. There he saw all three of his friends laying next to each other.

He slowly took a step towards Seungcheol while Jihoon stayed near the door trying to get the courage to go towards his friends. Jun instantly went over to Minghao and shakingly reached to touch his friends face before collapsing onto his knees and letting out a loud sob. 

“M-Minghao...Don’t leave your buddy Jun all alone here” he sobbed.

Jeonghan’s heart broke seeing the scene. He could see how much Jun cared about Minghao. 

Jun clenched the sheets covering Mingheo’s body and continued to pour his heart out.“It was supposed to be you and me versus the world...You left me behind” he sobbed out on Minghao’s chest. “What am I going to do now? Minghao you were my rock.” he cried. 

Jeonghan couldn’t bear listening to Jun’s whimpered cries. He instead looked over at Seungcheol, giving some privacy to Jun. 

He noticed how beautiful Seungcheol looked. He looked so peaceful and calm. As if he was just in peaceful slumber. He reached to gently touch his cheek, feeling how cold his once warm touch was. 

He wanted to cry and curse at the world for taking him away again, but he didn’t want to break down here. He had to be strong...just for a bit. He couldn’t help but wonder if this is how the other Seungcheol felt when he passed away in his previous life. 

His whole world was gone. 

How was he going to continue on? 

“Seungcheol...I...I don’t know if I could do this without you,” he whispered to himself. “It was supposed to be our second chance...I promised you our story wouldn’t end in tragedy.”

He pushed some of his hair away from his face. “I-I’m so sorry...I’m so sorry I couldn’t stop this from happening.” He repeated, tears running down his face. 

He took a shaky breath before continuing, “Y-you know the book I wrote was about you…” He confessed. “I wrote about us, our dates, and how you made me feel complete…” 

“I’m sure he would have loved the book,” Jeonghan suddenly heard Jihoon say. He turned towards him and saw that he was right next to him. 

He smiled sadly, glad the other had gotten the courage to walk over.

Jihoon handed him his handkerchief. 

“T-thanks” Jeonghan managed to say. 

Jihoon nodded, not trusting his voice as he felt a knot form in his throat when he looked over to Seungcheol, Mingyu and Minghao.

Jihoon walked over to where Mingyu was and tried his best to not tear up as he took a sharp breath seeing how peaceful he looked. 

“You know...I never got the chance to thank you...Seungcheol told me you insisted on having the book signing at the cafe...” He took a deep breath and tried to continue, “S-so...Thanks...I’m really gonna miss you... Especially your baking” he chuckled sadly,” You always stress baking...and when we would have our dates you would always bake a new recipe for me to try.” Jihoon reached to wipe away some tears trying to stop himself from crying, “I know I never said it before but...I love you Mingyu.” he hiccuped. “I’m sorry I never said it” he sobbed, breaking down. 

Jeonghan reached over and hugged Jihoon tightly, rubbing his back. He looked over at Jun and waved over to him to join in the hug. 

They all stayed like that, sobbing their hearts out in a cold room while wondering how they were going to face the world without them. 

All though Jeonghan’s second chance ended in tragedy again. He could only hope that they would all get another chance to meet each other again. 

* * *

**Summer Morning of 20xx**

Seungcheol woke up from the same recurring dream in cold sweat. He groaned, “What time is it…?” he mumbled as he looked over at his alarm.

He quickly sat up looking at the alarm clock in disbelief. “Fuck, I’m late!” He quickly changed and grabbed his book bag before running out the door. 

He rushed to the bus stop hoping he didn’t miss it yet. Unfortunately, the bus was driving away from the stop. “STOP THE BUS!!” Seungcheol yelled, hoping someone would flag the bus down. 

The bus drove off anway, he slowed down, realizing he would be late. “Augh! Why does this always happen to me??” he let out a frustrated sigh and sat down at the bench to wait for the bus. He looked at his phone and placed his headphones in as he chose a song. 

He was lost in his thoughts until he felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked up to see a very handsome young man looking down at him. He took out his earphones, “Yes?” He said a bit flustered that such a good looking person was talking to him. 

“Sorry, but is this seat taken?” The boy asked. 

“Not at all!” Seungcheol quickly responded, moving a bit to give him more room.

The boy thanked him and took the seat.

Seungcheol noticed the uniform the boy was wearing and wasn’t sure why he was so nervous but he felt like he needed to fill the silence. 

He cleared his throat, “Uhm I notice we go to the same school…” The boy looked over to him before he continued, “My name is Seungcheol Choi. I’m also a senior at Pledis High. I hope we can become friends.” He held his hand out to the boy. 

The boy looked at Seungcheol’s hand and shook it, “Jeonghan Yoon, It’s nice to meet you too” he smiled. “How do you know I’m a student there?”

“Um, the uniform?”

“I could have bought the uniform from somewhere and pretend to be a student.” 

“What?! That's weird! No one would do that!” Seungcheol said in disbelief. “...Wait you ARE a student, right?”

Jeonghan burst out laughing and nodded, “Yeah I am. It’s nice to have a new friend, Seungcheol” He smiled. 

Seungcheol laughed along and nodded. He wasn’t sure why but, he felt at ease with the new friend he made. 

This was going to be a fun year he thought. 

  
  


**\------ T H E E N D ----**


End file.
